My Bloomberg Opinion colleague Ramesh Ponnuru made the point recently that the Democratic presidential candidates faced a challenge in talking about the economy because it has been so strong. On top of that, as Powell likes to point out, sustaining the expansion has allowed the recovery to reach a broader subset of Americans.
Trump’s decision to impose further tariffs on China provides an opening for Democratic candidates. Indeed, California Senator Kamala Harris already did so, before this latest escalation. “Jerome Powell just dropped the interest rates and he admitted why — because of this so-called trade policy that this president has, that has been nothing more than the Trump trade tax,” she said on July 31. The president could have easily brushed off the attack at the time. But now?
One bad day in the markets doesn’t mean a recession will follow. But it does speak to whom investors fear the most when it comes to mishandling the economy.
This story provided by Bloomberg News.